Lillard’s salary is locked in for next season at $4,236,287. His extension would begin in 2016-17, when the new national TV contracts are in effect.

Based on projected salary caps, Lillard’s max extension would be worth about $121 million over five years. However, the Trail Blazers could agree to pay more if he meets the Derrick Rose Rule criteria. Lillard would qualify by making an All-NBA team this season or next,* and his projected max would rise to about $145 million over five years.**

*Or winning MVP, but that’s hard to do without making All-NBA.

**If Lillard makes All-NBA this season, he and Portland can negotiate an extension with full knowledge of whether Lillard is eligible for the higher max. If not, they can put a clause in the contract that specifies what happens if Lillard makes All-NBA next season – essentially declaring a salary between his upper and lower limits.

Stephen Curry, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul are shoe-ins at guard this season. The other two spots are up for grabs between Lillard, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Jimmy Butler and Klay Thompson.

There’s one – and only one – good reason for Portland not to offer Lillard an extension.

If Lillard signs an extension, he’d count against the cap at his 2016-17 salary when 2016 free agency begins – about $25 million with the Rose Rule and about $21 million without it.

However, if he doesn’t sign an extension, he’d count only $10,590,718 against the cap when 2016 free agency begins (250 percent of his previous salary). The Trail Blazers could use that $10 million-$15 million of created cap space and then exceed the cap to re-sign Lillard because they hold his Bird Rights. Lillard would be a restricted free agent, so he couldn’t unilaterally leave that offseason.

The potential downside for Portland? Asking Lillard to delay getting his new deal signed could fracture his relationship with the franchise. Maybe he seeks a shorter deal as a restricted free agent in 2016 – or, worst case scenario, accepts the qualifying offer and becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2017. He probably doesn’t want to put off his deal and risk injury.

But the potential reward – $10 million-$15 million of cap space – is high. Maybe Lillard would take a small risk to help his team assemble talent around him. Again, barring catastrophe, he’d get the same money either way.

There are a lot of great matchups to watch in the Clippers vs. Rockets second round matchup. The Clippers primarily used J.J. Redick on James Harden during the season, and it worked with Harden shooting just 38.5 percent. Will Trevor Ariza slow the hobbled Chris Paul? Then there is the question of how the Clippers deal with Josh Smith of the bench if he plays like he did in the Dallas series.

Then there is Dwight Howard vs. DeAndre Jordan.

That’s the one Jenna Corrado and I discuss in this latest PBT Extra. Howard missed all four regular season matchups between these teams and he certainly changes the dynamic. Plus, neither of these guys is used to being matched up on a big as athletic as they are. It will be fun.

However, if you think this was the only – or even just the second – error in award balloting, you’re probably fooling yourself. These things happen. Kudos to Haynes for addressing it so promptly, which was the only good recourse at this point.

Hopefully, these problems just avoided in the future, but I’m not counting on it.

Curry took 100 of 130 first-place votes. Second-place James Harden had 25, and third-place LeBron James took the other five. Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis and Chris Paul rounded out the final six major candidates.

Harden showed on 129 of 130 ballots, which allowed the Rockets guard to be the closest second-place finisher in points since LeBron James topped Kevin Durant in 2012.